No I read it which is why I'm asking for tips, it mentioned that it can develop in new settings/situations i.e. us adopting him about three weeks ago from a family that had him for 2+ years since puppyhood. He whines LOUDLY and chews at the kennel.. but any other time he's okay with sitting in it, sleeping in it, having the door closed while we eat. We were told that he always did fine in the kennel when left alone for hours, maybe they lied, but I doubt it as the family who adopted him out to us are very good friends of ours.

I know the classic symptoms of separation, a husky mix that we fostered had it severly.. all the symptoms to the dot. He was fine the first few times we crated and left him, but only for the first couple days. Like I said, maybe he's getting too accustomed to me being there all day long? We are attempting the gradual time increase training and beginning a training session with a local trainer this coming week, hoping it all clears up.

Okay so the new pup (Min Pin) has severe SA.... she is fine if you are home, aside from being attached to you. But the minute you put her in her crate - she sounds like she is dying. The previous owner was a vet tech and the vet put her on Reconcile (1/2 pill at bedtime) but I'm not sure if it's working. Should she be on it in the morning instead?? She has been on it for two months according to the previous owner. Is there anything else I can do to help her? I know that when her prescription of Reconcile is up I will be having the vet call in to Walmart for regular Prozac since I know I can pay less than $5 for a prescription instead of the $40 at the vet.

Navaeh has SA but it isn't nearly this bad. She is just destructive and breaks out of her crate from time to time (which is finally solved). I think her last bout was over the earthquake we had in Indiana about a month ago. She literally stopped the day after the earthquake.

The meds on their own aren't going to solve the SA, they are meant to take the edge off so you can work on the desensitization protocol with her, with the eventual goal (months or years, depending on the dog) of not needing the meds at all.

star_frances wrote:The meds on their own aren't going to solve the SA, they are meant to take the edge off so you can work on the desensitization protocol with her, with the eventual goal (months or years, depending on the dog) of not needing the meds at all.

I completely understand that, I'm just trying to figure out what else I can do for her, such as the instruction her previous owner gave me for the meds was to give them to her before bedtime. She is at home with us at bedtime, wouldn't it work better if she was given the meds in the morning. By the time we leave in the mornings, the medication has already been in her system for 12 hours. Seems kind of pointless to have a dose at bedtime. The medication doesn't even seem to be taking the edge off - at all. She howls and cries and paws at her crate. She literally sounds like a dog being attacked, like she is dying. It's horrible. I'm sure it's because (I just found this out) we are her third (and final) home - in less than a year - she just turned a year at the beginning of January. That's a pretty rough start for her - on top of being attacked by the previous owners dog. I've heard of using lavender oil and stuff like that - just didn't know if that was the right route to go or not.

I will definitely be buying the books and reading those articles, just trying to see if there was something possibly hollistic I could do for her in the mean time. I know she is probably a little more nervous with being in a new home and I have tried to be home as much as possible this weekend since getting her on Friday - but it's back to work for me tomorrow and trying to figure what our best options are for her.

Right now we're using the same routine we have for the other dogs, make sure her favorite toys are in there, give her a few treats, tell her nicely to go in her crate, treat, praise, lock the door, and treat one last time before walking out the door. She absolutely loves my female Navaeh - she lays with her on the couch and loves to play with her. That's why I figured it would help for her cage to be in the same room. There's no over excitement, we try to keep her calm, but praise her and give her treats and toys for going in her crate and such, but we don't want to excite her and elevate her anxiety.

The other dogs crates are in one room, near each other, but not touching - there's about 6' in between them and I would put about the same space in between the crates if hers was in the same room.

Okay so this morning - moved her crate into the same room as the other two dogs. Did the same routine as I stated before and she didn't make a peep. I don't know if she cried after we left for work, but nothing as I was pulling out of the driveway.

StarrLightning wrote:Right now her crate is in the living room, separate from the other two dogs. Would it help her if her crate was in the same room as the other dogs? I'm willing to try almost anything to help her.

It may initially calm her, but I would be very very careful with it. More often than not, owners with SA dogs who hope a second dog present will help end up with 2 dogs with SA rather than one. The commotion of the one dog literally will drive the other one insane. How long have you had her? Is it possible that its simply anxiety to the crate and being in a new place rather than full blown separation anxiety? What symptoms aside from vocalization and trying to get out of her crate are you seeing?

I'm thinking we need some kind of online support group for those dealing with separation anxiety. It really is such a difficult behavior to deal with, for both dog and owner!

StarrLightning wrote:Right now her crate is in the living room, separate from the other two dogs. Would it help her if her crate was in the same room as the other dogs? I'm willing to try almost anything to help her.

It may initially calm her, but I would be very very careful with it. More often than not, owners with SA dogs who hope a second dog present will help end up with 2 dogs with SA rather than one. The commotion of the one dog literally will drive the other one insane. How long have you had her? Is it possible that its simply anxiety to the crate and being in a new place rather than full blown separation anxiety? What symptoms aside from vocalization and trying to get out of her crate are you seeing?

I'm thinking we need some kind of online support group for those dealing with separation anxiety. It really is such a difficult behavior to deal with, for both dog and owner!

That is the only behavior I have witnessed. Her previous owner's are the ones who had her on the prescription and said that she has SA. Those are the only symptoms she has shown here. I'm not sure what other symptoms she had with them. Navaeh (my other dog with SA) seems to have calmed own A LOT... not sure if it has come with age or what, but she no longer vocalizes the way she used to.

The new dog - this is day 4 of her being here. I don't have much history on her other than - we are her third home, she was attacked by another dog at the previous owner's home, she just turned a year old, she isn't fully house trained, has no obedience training, and supposedly has SA and is on Reconcile for that. That's about all we know so far.

Ah, so she is brand spankin' new to your house! Have you tried giving her a frozen kong, bones, or anything to keep her occupied in her crate? I'm wondering if its just that she's never been properly crate trained and her former owners misdiagnosed her behavior. I'd try the basic tricks, giving her a crate-safe toy or work to eat puzzle and start back at square one with crate training and see how that goes. I'd hate for you to have to do all the extra work that comes with modifying SA behavior if it isn't really needed.

Stormi wrote:Ah, so she is brand spankin' new to your house! Have you tried giving her a frozen kong, bones, or anything to keep her occupied in her crate? I'm wondering if its just that she's never been properly crate trained and her former owners misdiagnosed her behavior. I'd try the basic tricks, giving her a crate-safe toy or work to eat puzzle and start back at square one with crate training and see how that goes. I'd hate for you to have to do all the extra work that comes with modifying SA behavior if it isn't really needed.

It very well could be that... I honestly wouldn't be surprised if that is what it is. Now the fun part - finding a toy that she likes. She has one toy that she kinda likes and that's about it. I don't think she understands how to play with toys or anything. She likes rawhides but none of my dogs get those unsupervised. I'll have to pick up a kong for her this weekend and see how that goes.

So after having her a little over a week, in all honesty it does not look like to me that the newest member, Little Bit, has SA. It actually looks like to me that she was not crate trained properly and she seems to get very bored in her crate.

I would like to find a way to get her off of the Reconcile just to make sure because I have not seen her symptoms when she is not taking the Reconcile. She came to me having already been on the medication for 2 months. Having a 10 month old puppy on an SA drug doesn't seem right to me (She just turned 1 yr at the beginning of January).

I've got my work cut out for me with her. She doesn't know how to be a dog - she doesn't like any toys, doesn't understand how to play. I think she's just a 10 pound ball of confusion.

Poor gal. Lucky she's now got someone who cares who can help her out! I'd talk to a vet to see if its safe to stop the meds cold turkey or if there needs to be some adjustments to get her off of it, and along with that, just take it slow and do your best to make the world a positive place for her. With many dogs that get bounced around from home to home, it takes that comfort of stability for their true personalities to really shine.